What do I need to upgrade in order to play KOTOR?

[hhpwang]

hi folks

i'm not really much of a gamer, but star wars: knights of the new republic has me intrigued. unfortunately, i think my homebuilt system from two years ago is probably not up to the task -- here's what i've got:

iWill KK266 MB (onboard sound)
AMD Thunderbird 1.1GHz
640MB 133MHz SDR RAM
Radeon LE 32MB (slightly overclocked for no particular reason)
80GB Seagate Barracuda IV PATA
120 GB Seagate Barracude 7200.7 PATA
Windows XP Pro

at the very least, i know that my video card isn't supported (see below), and the processor seems marginal but maybe it's good enough? i'd love some advice re: best bang for the buck/lowest cost upgrade path. new video card? new processor? forget about it and scrap the whole thing?

one card i've been looking at is one of the radeon 9200SE cards, which seem to cost around $60 or so, though even there there are so many options it's dizzying. since i'm only a casual gamer, the 2D text performance of the card would have to be ace -- do these card fit the bill?

overall, i don't necessarily want to spend huge amounts of money on this aging machine, but i don't want to throw money away either.

thoughts? comments? thanks!


btw, the LucasArts web site lists these system requirements for KOTOR:

Computer: 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible computer
Operating Systems: Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP
CPU: Intel PIII 1 GHz or AMD Athlon 1 GHz required
Memory: 128 MB RAM required for Windows 98, 256 MB RAM required for Windows ME/2000/XP
Graphics Card: 32 MB OpenGL 1.4 compatible PCI or AGP 3D Hardware Accelerator with Hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) Capability required
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible Audio Device required
CD-ROM: Quad Speed CD-ROM drive required
Input Device: Keyboard and mouse required
DirectX: Microsoft DirectX 9.0b is included on this CD. NOTE: DirectX may require the "latest" drivers for your particular hardware.
Installation: 4.0 GB of free hard drive space required

Supported Chipsets at the time of release:
# ATI Radeon 8500/9000/9200
# ATI Radeon 9500/9600/9700/9800
# NVIDIA GeForce 2/3/4 family
# NVIDIA GeForceFX family

Additional Chipsets supported. For a complete list of supported 3D cards, please consult the Troubleshooting guide, or visit the Technical Support section of the LucasArts Website at www.lucasarts.com.

Recommended Specifications:
# CPU: 1.6 GHZ AMD or Intel processor
# Video Chipset: ATI Radeon 9200 or better, NVidia GeForce4 Ti or better
# RAM: 512 MB RAM

 

[DaveSimmons]

nVidia supposedly improved the 2D quality control with the gf4 line, so a used gf4 ti4200 is probably your best choice for under $100.

If you can't find one at a price you're willing to pay then a gf3 or ATI 9100 (faster than 9200) but you'll have to drop down a resolution and/or dial down other image quality settings.

Obviously moving to an nforce + XP 2500+ + 512 MB PC2700 would also help, but right now the video card is what will cripple your perfromance.

 

[dexvx]

Dont go for any of the SE cards, they're crippled.

The cheapest would be a Ti4200 series, followed by a Radeon9200/9500/9600 series.

 

[DaveSimmons]

The gf4 ti 4200, 9600 pro, 9500 pro are all close to the same speed, and all much faster than a 9100 / 9200 / or the non-pro 9500 & 9600.

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The gf4 ti 4200, 9600 pro, 9500 pro are all close to the same speed, and all much faster than a 9100 / 9200 / or the non-pro 9500 & 9600.

Since when does a ti4200 = R9500/R9600 Pro?

I'll gladly trade my ti4200 for any of those.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: dexvx

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The gf4 ti 4200, 9600 pro, 9500 pro are all close to the same speed, and all much faster than a 9100 / 9200 / or the non-pro 9500 & 9600.

Since when does a ti4200 = R9500/R9600 Pro?

I'll gladly trade my ti4200 for any of those.

A gf4 ti 4200 is faster than both in OpenGL, significantly slower than the 9500 Pro in Direct3D but a bit faster than 9600 pro in it. A better card for Quake3/Doom3 engine games, worse for Half-life 2 and for running games in DX9 mode. The 9600 Pro is a good choice though for a $150 budget.

Toms 31 cards incl GF4 and 9500

Toms 9600 Pro and gf4 ti 4200

edit: I was considering 1024x768 no AA/AF. The ATI 9500/9600 Pro dominate the gf4 at higher resolutions and with AA/AF enabled, but niether of those are likely to be playable for KOTOR on a 1 GHz system.

 

[Coalfax]

We all will agree that he needs to upgrade the vid card ( which I would wait on btw for 3 more months at least... next gen will get the current crap priced lower.... ahem.. anyway )

Unfortunately the next step for an upgrade will be slightly more involved. To uograde that processor, you most likely will need to get a new mobo, which will require faster reliable DDR RAM... blah blah.

Take the plunge or wait a bit longer ad get all the parts at once time?

 

[Nebor]

Kotor beats up on my P4C 3ghz w/ 9800 Pro @ 430\360mhz.... It's a beast of a game. But soooooo good. It's just a graphics card killer. Has a lot of bugs too. And it doesn't support 1280x1024 resolution for our LCDs! Boooooooo!

 

[hhpwang]

i'm trying to constrain the scope of the upgrade path. i mean, the vast majority of folks who will buy KOTOR (or any game, for that matter) won't have machines that are anywhere near the cutting edge, right?

if i could get away with spending $100 or less on a better graphics card i think that might be worth it. are there any options around that price point?

 

[klah]

It would be cheaper to just buy an xbox rather than trying to upgrade that system to achieve decent performance.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: klah
It would be cheaper to just buy an xbox rather than trying to upgrade that system to achieve decent performance.

Look at the screenshots of Xbox vs. PC. Xbox is 640x480.... bleh!

 

[Stoerm]

It is rumored that you local BB will have the Radeon 9600 Non-pros for $70 after rebate on the day after Thanksgiving. If you can drag yourself out of bed early enough (6am or so), give that a shot. There's no way you'll beat that performance for that price.

The best thing would obviously be to make a new puter over the holidays and sell yours in the local paper (or ebay) to make up for some of the expenditure. If you look around enough and have a bit of patience, you can really put a PC together cheaply. Especially considering the fact that you have the drives.

Either way, that Radeon is a great first step.

 

[RaiderJ]

Originally posted by: klah
It would be cheaper to just buy an xbox rather than trying to upgrade that system to achieve decent performance.

 

[digitalsm]

Originally posted by: Coalfax
We all will agree that he needs to upgrade the vid card ( which I would wait on btw for 3 more months at least... next gen will get the current crap priced lower.... ahem.. anyway )

Unfortunately the next step for an upgrade will be slightly more involved. To uograde that processor, you most likely will need to get a new mobo, which will require faster reliable DDR RAM... blah blah.

Take the plunge or wait a bit longer ad get all the parts at once time?

Its going to be more like 6 months until the next gen cards are released in volume. They will be "released" in late March, but they will be tough to find till mid May.

 

[ZimZum]

Originally posted by: klah
It would be cheaper to just buy an xbox rather than trying to upgrade that system to achieve decent performance.

 

[JimRaynor]

4 gigs of hard drive space?? -_-;;;;;

 

[hhpwang]

stoerm,

thanks for the tip -- i read about that card and the BB deal yesterday too -- i wonder if it'd be enough? even more importantly, i wonder if i can realistically get up that early to get in line at a STORE (!).

 

[Nebor]

The Radeon 9600 is supported by KOTOR, but is not compatible. Most people w/ 9600s are unable to play. Check the KOTOR tech board

 

[Stoerm]

Wow - good thing you chimed in here... I had no idea.

Man, looks like many of the Radeons don't work well with KOTOR. I used to be a big Nvidia fan, but recently they've just turned out some crappy work. You're probably going to have to get a Radeon 9100 (but check for support problems with KOTOR first) or step up the cost a bit and get an Nvidia 5700 card. I'm assuming that the GF 4 MXs are too slow.

 

[austin316]

I run the game fine, with a Geforce 2 MX. People get too worried about FPS and anti-aliasing. Now, the graphics aren't that great, but the game is more than playable. Also, the game is awesome. First game since WCIII that I have thoroughly enjoyed. (doesn't include sports games.)

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: austin316
I run the game fine, with a Geforce 2 MX. People get too worried about FPS and anti-aliasing. Now, the graphics aren't that great, but the game is more than playable. Also, the game is awesome. First game since WCIII that I have thoroughly enjoyed. (doesn't include sports games.)

A game is like a movie; you don't go to see the cast, or the dialogue, or the script, or the acting... It's all about the eye candy. I barely noticed KOTOR had a plot, what with the beauty of the cities. THe oceans of Manaan are gorgeous. High graphics settings make a game.